WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009

DARK HORSE COMICS FIRST LOOKS

FIRST LOOK: THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY: DALLAS #3

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #3 will arrive in stores on Jan. 28 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Gerard Way, with art and cover by Gabriel Ba.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"As Clare Boothe Luce once said, 'No good deed goes unpunished.' The Seance, ego bloated from having saved the world a few months ago, finds himself strapped in for a most unpleasant ride while the team runs in four different directions-because only four of the seven Umbrella Brats are currently mobile.

"Clare Boothe Luce, Republican congresswoman, ambassador, and playwright, was the daughter of unmarried violinist and deserter Wm. Franklin Boothe. (The Umbrella Academy does not approve of the term 'illegitimate child.' Every child is legitimate; it's some parents we find to be lacking.) Through her varied career, she took on communism, sexism, and Nazism. When her friend, actress and legendary suicide Dorothy Hale, threw herself from the sixteenth floor of New York City's Hampshire House, Luce compelled art goddess Frida Kahlo to paint the shocking El Suicidio de Dorothy Hale . In 1953, President Eisenhower named Luce ambassador to Italy. When she met Pope Pius XII, Luce, ignoring America's own ethic about separation of church and state, explained the Church's moral requirement to be tougher on communism. Pope Pius replied, 'You know, Mrs. Ambassador, I am a Catholic, too.' Seven years later, the United States would elect its first Catholic president. "

The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #3 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER SEASON 8 #22

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #22 will arrive in stores on Feb. 4 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Steven S. DeKnight, with art by Georges Jeanty and Andy Owens and covers by Jo Chen and Jeanty.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"Vampires are the hottest thing around -- forget hipsters; being a bloodsucking fiend is wherešs itšs at! Slayers must take the good fight underground if theyšre to avoid any bad press from the general public.

"When Kennedy is sent to Japan to evaluate Satsušs efforts as team leader, they are taken by surprise by some fierce furry creatures who want to do nothing more than destroy Buffy (surprise!), while Twilight remains the captain of the anti-Slayer ship."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #22 will be 40 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: FEAR AGENT #26

Fear Agent #26 will arrive in stores on Feb. 18 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Rick Remender, with art and cover by Tony Moore.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"Heath Huston, a mysterious otherworldly stranger, comes to the rescue of a frontier town that is somehow a step out of time. The peaceful, small mining community is under threat of annihilation when a ruthless land baron arrives with his posse of hired guns to take control of the territory. After the struggle for a peaceable resolution, and the gunfighting . . . it all ends in a down-in-the-mud, cheap-and-bloody fistfight to the death."

Fear Agent #26 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: HELLBOY: THE WILD HUNT #3

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #3 will arrive in stores on Feb. 4 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, with art by Duncan Fegredo and Guy Davis and a cover by Mignola.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"Hellboy sets out across the bleak hills of Ireland to find out what the recent omens he's experienced have been referring to -- while the newly resurrected Queen of Blood rises to take control of the witches of England, torturing the ones who betrayed her, and preparing the rest for an even more bloody campaign against the race of man."

Hellboy: The Wild Hunt #3 will be 32 and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: KULL #4

Kull #4 will arrive in stores on Feb. 4 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Arvid Nelson, with art by Will Conrad.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"Dark Horse's riveting adaptation of Robert E. Howard's 'The Shadow Kingdom' comes to a bloody crescendo, as Kull and Brule uncover further layers of deception and treachery in the ancient halls of Valusia's Tower of Splendor. Over the centuries, the human race has become confident of its complete dominance over the natural and supernatural realms. Using humanity's own arrogance and indolence against itself, a shadowy race of snake creatures has returned to nearly full strength -- and is poised to take over Valusia as a first step in toppling man's soft civilization! Kull, the newly crowned warrior-king, and Brule, a Pict emissary, are all that stand between the snake-men and the decimation of the Seven Empires. Ancient rivalries are put aside as Kull and Brule fight for their lives, their people, and their very souls!"

Kull #4 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: B.P.R.D.: THE BLACK GODDESS #2

B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess #2 will arrive in stores on Feb. 11 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi, with art by Guy Davis, Gabriel Ba, Kyle Hotz, Eric Canete and various and a cover by Kevin Nowlan.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"With the help of the Lobster's last surviving ally, the B.P.R.D. has tracked Memnan Saa to the mountain refuge where he is holding Liz. But even the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense is unprepared for the apocalyptic battle ahead."

B.P.R.D.: The Black Goddess #2 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: REX MUNDI #16

Rex Mundi #16 will arrive in stores on Feb. 18 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by Arvid Nelson, with art by Juan Ferreyra, cover by Jo Chen.

Here's how Dark Horse describes the issue:

"Julien is dying, his body horribly savaged by Lorraine's torturers. His only hope now is Genevieve, but the Castle of the Holy Grail is crawling with the Duke of Lorraine's dreaded Imperial Guard -- not to mention the duke himself.

"Fortunately for Genevieve and Julien, Lorraine has other things on his mind -- namely his daughter, Isabelle! Isabelle is drunk with power -- literally -- and she's hell bent on killing her father. Only one of them is going to survive the epic confrontation.

"Meanwhile, sniveling Baron Robert Teniers has made his move. He's ready for the deepest mysteries of the Holy Grail, but he should be careful what he wishes for . . ."

Rex Mundi #16 will be 32 pages and will cost $2.99.

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FIRST LOOK: STAR WARS: KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC #38

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #38 will arrive in stores on Feb. 18 from Dark Horse Comics. The issue is written by John Jackson Miller, with art by Dean Zachary and a cover by Brian Ching.

"Something horrible has happened aboard the Chancellor Fillorean ; the former luxury ship now drifts aimlessly in a space nebula. Upon boarding the ghost ship, a host of asphyxiated passengers and two lone survivors -- a tiny alien and his fierce droid bodyguard -- are all that are found. Zayne and his friends must solve the mystery and find what has been causing the tragic and disturbing deaths -- before they also become victims."

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic #38 will be 40 pages and will cost $2.99.